My mother-in-law wants to know if there are any low carb (ie Adkins, South Beach) certified restaurants/trattorias/tavola caldas in Italy. What should I tell her?

My opinion, for what it's worth: Smile sweetly and suggest she enjoy, without restricting herself, all the wonderful abundant Italian food she possibly can in the short time it is available to her (I'm making the assumption that she's going to be on vacation). I'd hazard a guess that most Italians would find her request amusing.

She can always skip the pasta and eat meat and seafood. The restaurants offer a variety of food. Do they have to be certified? . . . or you could tell her to walk ten miles a day. Good luck.

No, there are not! Echoing SalB, she will manage just fine by ordering steak/chicken/fish for dinner and can opt for a caprese salad to start (versus a pasta dish). It is entirely do-able, I managed a semi-Atkins there for 2 weeks just fine, despite being in the land of pasta.

Certified? Are there "certified" restaurants for low-carb diets anywhere in the world?

There are places that serve steak everywhere in Italy. And it IS reasonable to ask a hotel if they serve eggs for breakfast, since I would estimate that most will, if asked, but not all. There usually will be cheeses and (cold meats). Skip two-thirds of the tomato on an insalata caprese, and she will have more than enough fuel for the day.

Here's to molto, molto encouragement to keep on her plan to lose all the weight she seeks to lose.

Best wishes,

Rex

There are US resturants that have received the Atkins permission to use thier logo which I assume would be the
"Certified". I don't think this has gone international however.

Personally, I would try to avoid giving food advice to my MIL.

Another good thing to remember is that the Italians tend to eat the various food groups in courses. This actually makes eating in the Atkins style very easy (although I dare say, a week or two of small pasta or risotto or polenta courses seems hard to pass up!)

Your "starchy" courses are separate so simply don't order them. The fantastically fresh main fish, fowl and meat courses should provide endless pleasure.

Please let us all know if you MIL can pass on the gelato; that will be the true test of dedication.

Brian

Having had the pleasure of living in Italy for a year, despite the fact it was on a student budget, I can vouch for the fact that there's an abundance of grilled meats of all kinds your MIL can enjoy. Also, as Rome is only about 30 miles or so away from the sea, there's a lot of seafood. The Italians are quite fond of their vegetables and salads, but I find it refreshing that they don't tend to get into gloppy salad dressings--just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or the cruets of oil and vinegar that are available.

If it's any consolation, the Italians typically have enjoyed one of the lowest rates of obesity (and coincidentally also of suicide) in western Europe for a long time.

BC

I can't imagine Italian certified restaurants (!) but take time & explain a bit about the food to her. Dinners in a nice restaurant you order courses separately so easy to choose salad with oil & vinegar or roasted vegetables plus meat, poultry or fish. Breakfast is a bit trickier, some hotels include a buffet with cold cuts and cheese, eggs are more unusual and pastries & rolls more the norm.

Personally I would not encourage her to go off her food plan in Italy; she may or may not decide that for herself once she's there. I'd have her pack some Atkins energy bars, mixed nuts, like that. And go grocery shopping with her if it turns out that restaurants aren't pleasing her (cheese and salami are easy to come by!).

So what to tell her? I think in this situation the truth works pretty good! Or you might print out this thread and let her know you were thinking of her comfort on the upcoming trip!!

Good grief! Does she expect a plaque at the entrance to the restaurant and a list of the no. of carbs of each meal offered? I doubt she'll find anything like that in Italy (and is there any such thing as a certified low-carb restaurant in the US even?)
That said, she should be able to follow the diet easily in any Mediterranean country, where the food is based on fresh protein and vegetables. A quick look at the menu of any restaurant should provide her with a wealth of choices. I mean, these people practicallu invented the low-carb diet. If she doesn't order pasta, she'll be FINE.